Anyone up for a bit of adventure this summer?
How about retrieving a secret key and then following GPS coordinates to journey 90 miles deep into the Mojave desert where a hidden swimming pool awaits? It might sound like some silly film premise, but this chlorinated treasure is f’real – and it’s the doing of artist Alfredo Barsuglia. His motivation for putting an accessible body of water in such a remote location was meant to comment on society’s willingness to haul their asses plane, train, or automobile style far, far away to rediscover their authentic selves when they take a standard American holiday.
It’s true. And I’ve been there before – in that “I have to get away” mentality when things that look familiar are just too overwhelming and you need a change of scene. Laying on a beach in Hawaii once, I turned to my sister and said – “Dude, you know those places we’re always daydreaming about when we’re not happy? We’re IN it. Right now.” She kinda nodded in agreement and then we both passed out from our respective libations, losing several layers of skin thereafter.
Reflecting on those days the rays were reflecting off me at the Hale Koa, two questions come to mind: was it really the location? And if it was – was being there at least supplemented by all hard work we did to get there – like surviving a ten hour flight and room-sharing with our parents?
In a way, I think it’s both the journey and the destination – the destination being a body of water and the journey being an active riddle that requires preparedness and awareness to solve without issues arising. As the swimming pool artist describes for those willing to take on the task:
“You can expect to do a little driving on unpaved roads, and you can expect to do a little hiking in the desert. You shouldn’t drive all the way to the pool because you might get stuck and also, it isn’t nice to run over plants. You may encounter snakes, lizards, hares and other desert creatures along your way, but probably few humans. The pool is small but it is also a glaring white, so you should be able to spot it if your coordinates are accurate and you are observant. The pool has two locks both opened by the key and then you and a buddy should be able to pull the cover off.”
If the closest thing to hiking you do is passing palm trees while shopping, something like making your way to take a dip in the desert could feel validating, I suppose.
In that case, the journey is where it’s at. But the destination – in this case, a clean swimming pool in the bowels of the Mojave – is also manna from heaven by the end of that trek. And the reason is two-fold. One is because of the long journey and feeling like you’ve won. Also, there’s the concept I was reminded of in a recent Psychology Today article – called the “blue effect” which we humans experience when near bodies of water. Whether you’re getting an unreal aerial view of vast blue twinkling waters as you descend into Hilo or just stepping out onto a dock on the river, something happens to our biology that hits the reset button on our mind for a bit. And if we submerge in it to swim or bathe? Even better. Even the sound of ocean waves has a calming effect on everyone from my infant niece – to me writing an infantile piece about boobies.
Ocean proximity sounds like an end game and prize in itself – and it kinda is. “Islander mentality”, they call it, is a kind of outlook where you just have a better overall sense of happiness when you live on a rock in the middle of an ocean. That idea’s also corroborated by the Psych Today article which explains how people gain a greater sense of empathy once they’ve been near water bodies a while.
But for those just visiting – whose brain’s stockrooms are still full of “what-I-gotta-do-when-I-get-back-home”, it may take a bit longer to synch up with the sea. However, having been “that guy” for pretty much my whole life, I can vouch for the fact that while wading in the Pacific is a prize in and of itself – when you’ve worked hard to enjoy it, that final sigh of relief makes the aqueous scented air smell that much sweeter.
As for Alfredo’s creation – I was trying to work out his reason for the name.
At first, I thought calling the climax of his wild goose-chase the “Social Pool” might be an ironic thing – ‘cause no one else is actually there to socialize with.
Then I thought, perhaps it’s literal: “social” as in the whole “pool” of “society” collectively is willing to take any length to escape the monotony.
Or both – we’re willing to travel miles and at the end pretend we’ve found something special and unique – when in fact several others from our “pool” of “social” members have already had their anuses marinating in it. You know – like an Einstein-esque connection via sweat – people socializing through butt sweat, yet never interacting? Then I realized – that’s it.
Connection without genuine connection?
Long distances?
A bunch of people talking at eachother outta their assholes?
Totes a commentary on social networking.